My Chances at Harvard - Post All Profile Evaluation Requests Here!

Hi Snamehra - In considering your career objective (and the MSc plans), you might want to consider that spots for finance people at HBS is more limited than potentially for other fields and endeavors. We have certainly had MSc grads get admitted to HBS, but (beyond how it plays in your career) you need to show how it indicates your potential to make a real difference in the world in the future. Best -
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Hi - Seems you have strong academics, score and demographics. Your profession is a positive (as not in the U.S.). It would help if some of your prior work experience was with an international or globally recognized firm. You are getting on the older side, so would like want to apply soon. Best of luck!
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Hey guys, so I am thinking of applying to HBS 2+2 and Stanford MBA deferred admission. Would like to know what you think of my chances of getting to the interview stage/ getting an offer

I am from Montreal, Canada (23 year old white male)
Undergrad: Non-target US university (Economics & Finance)
GPA: 3.96/4.0 (top 1%)
Masters: Masters in Management at London Business School (LBS)
GMAT: 710 (49Q, 38V, 8IR, 5.0 AWA)
Work Experience: Investment banking analyst (M&A, ECM, DCM) in a top Canadian Bank (will start in July 2018)
Leadership: Captain of my NCAA tennis team in Florida, MVP for 2 years
EC: Professional tennis player for 7 years, ranked 668 in the world (played in over 40 different countries), represented Canada in the Junior Olympics in Singapore
Sponsorship from Adidas and Babolat
Post-MBA Goal: Venture Capital or Private Equity in a top US fund

In my essay, I plan to leverage my tennis experience and discuss everything I have learned from it (leadership, dedication, performing under pressure, time management, problem solving, interpersonal skills).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, you can PM me

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, so I am thinking of applying to HBS 2+2 and Stanford MBA deferred admission. Would like to know what you think of my chances of getting to the interview stage/ getting an offer

I am from Montreal, Canada (23 year old white male)
Undergrad: Non-target US university (Economics & Finance)
GPA: 3.96/4.0 (top 1%)
Masters: Masters in Management at London Business School (LBS)
GMAT: 710 (49Q, 38V, 8IR, 5.0 AWA)
Work Experience: Investment banking analyst (M&A, ECM, DCM) in a top Canadian Bank (will start in July 2018)
Leadership: Captain of my NCAA tennis team in Florida, MVP for 2 years
EC: Professional tennis player for 7 years, ranked 668 in the world (played in over 40 different countries), represented Canada in the Junior Olympics in Singapore
Sponsorship from Adidas and Babolat
Post-MBA Goal: Venture Capital or Private Equity in a top US fund

In my essay, I plan to leverage my tennis experience and discuss everything I have learned from it (leadership, dedication, performing under pressure, time management, problem solving, interpersonal skills).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, you can PM me

Thanks in advance!

Hey guys, so I am thinking of applying to HBS 2+2 and Stanford MBA deferred admission. Would like to know what you think of my chances of getting to the interview stage/ getting an offer

I am from Montreal, Canada (23 year old white male)
Undergrad: Non-target US university (Economics & Finance)
GPA: 3.96/4.0 (top 1%)
Masters: Masters in Management at London Business School (LBS)
GMAT: 710 (49Q, 38V, 8IR, 5.0 AWA)
Work Experience: Investment banking analyst (M&A, ECM, DCM) in a top Canadian Bank (will start in July 2018)
Leadership: Captain of my NCAA tennis team in Florida, MVP for 2 years
EC: Professional tennis player for 7 years, ranked 668 in the world (played in over 40 different countries), represented Canada in the Junior Olympics in Singapore
Sponsorship from Adidas and Babolat
Post-MBA Goal: Venture Capital or Private Equity in a top US fund

In my essay, I plan to leverage my tennis experience and discuss everything I have learned from it (leadership, dedication, performing under pressure, time management, problem solving, interpersonal skills).

Any tips would be greatly appreciated, you can PM me

Thanks in advance!

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Hi - Yes the tennis is great for showing your competitive spirit and the diversity of people you have engaged - but primarily because of your ability to make incremental (though not always smooth trajectory of course) improvements to excellence. But that is only one piece of the equation - you need to convince them of your academic capabilities and overall likelihood that you will excel in your career plans (such as you know them). Best -
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Curious what the pros think.

25 Y/o Persian American (will apply just before my 26th birthday)
Goal Schools: HBS / GBS / MIT / Wharton / UCLA
Post MBA Goal: Work to relieve poverty in underserved regions by transitioning into a blockchain startup that emphasizes building financial blockchain platforms that directly connect into remote regions of the world. Inspired by the promise of distributed networks allowing scale and services into markets that traditional infrastructure could not feasibly support.

GMAT -730 (Q49, V40)

May 2013- Dec 2015 (Full courses every semester including all summers)
Bachelors of Science in Security and Risk Analysis, option in Information and Cyber security from Penn State World Campus.
Penn State GPA: 3.70 ,
5x Recipient of Dean's List.
Certificate of Achievement from National Security Agency recognizing graduates of programs meeting NSA/DHS standard for cyber security professionals.

Fall 2010- Early 2013
Studied Computer Science at Cal Poly Pomona. GPA ~3.4
Expelled from all Cal State Universities during the first quarter of 2013 due to behavior incidents (minor drug offenses - no criminal charges or academic dishonesty) .

Elephant in the room...
2013 was a turning point in my life. I was forced to accept that my poor decisions had permanently damaged by life goals and I came close to giving up on education. After a lot of painful self reflection, I realized I had to go back to school and not be defined by mistakes but learn from them. I opted for online because I had to get back into school as fast as possible (UC deadlines were very far out) and work outside of school to support myself. My family couldn't help me heavily at this time so I privately tutored SAT/ACT Math and Calculus along with performed Computer Repair as my job while in school full time. I worked hard to move past this event.

Work History
Jun 2012 - Aug 2012: Robotics Research Apprentice at Cal Poly Pomona. Presented at Summer Synopsis my work with Robotics Operating System to control an Roomba Create
Aug 2012 - Dec 2014: Private Tutor for essentially all subjects grades 7-12 Math Pre-Algebra to Calculus 1, SAT/ACT prep, physics, and English.
Jan 2015 - June 2015: Solution Engineering Intern (hired full time in June) - I was one of 9 interns nationwide with over 1000 applicants total
July 2015 - Sept 2017: Solutions Engineer 1 (Support Team)
Sept 2017 - Present: Solutions Engineer 2 (Field Team - Security Specialist, Blockchain Specialty building)

Accomplishments/Other:
Next Leader Program 2017-2018 - Selected as a protege for a highly regarded internal leadership development program that is offered to less than 1% of employees each year.
Cloud Security Expert - Only junior engineer to join a subject matter expert team support a new product launch.
Cisco Cybersecurity Scholarship recipient - full courses and exams given by cisco for the CCNA Cyber Ops.
Penn State Alumni Ambassador - Jan 18-present

Certifications:
Cisco Certified Network Associate in Routing and Switching (CCNA R/S)
Cisco Certified Network Associate in Cyber Operations (CCNA Cyber Ops) **Security-based cert
Fortinet Network Security Expert level 3 (NSE 3)
Zscaler Certified Sales Engineer (ZCSE)

The rundown is, I'm currently a solutions engineer in a fortune 100 telecommunications company. I started as an intern where I worked 40 hours a week for 6 months while simultaneously going to school full time. After the 6 month internship, I was promoted and brought on full time but still was in school for 6 additional months until I graduated. During that time, I've obtained industry-relevant certifications, and was rewarded by being the only member of my team invited to attend a conference in Las Vegas alongside senior engineers. I've built strong relationships with team members and management, and am viewed as a consultant in security products. I've recently began working with our technology strategy team to build blockchain proof of concepts for potential customers. This is a side project to my day to day job of sales engineering. I'll be able to score glowing recommendations by former manager (until sep 17) and my engineering director.

I posted this before last year, but lots has changed since then for the better

Hey fearfulpersistance

Thanks for posting and being so candid about your history. Your GMAT and GPA are in a good place which is a big part of this battle so great news there. There are two larger question marks for me:
1. I have not seen someone with an online degree apply to a M7 b-school. So this is unknown territory for me. It's not to say it hasn't been done before, but schools do consider the quality of undergrad institution and I'm not sure how this will play. Definitely take advantage of the optional essay to explain your history here.
2. The expulsion. This will be tough too. Competition at top b-schools is so tough...you're in optional essay territory here again. Be honest, show growth and maturity. To me this is a challenge because expulsion is usually a last resort for schools -- like a three strikes you're out thing -- and b-schools will be cognizant of that.

I have other qs about your goals and if there are any firms out there doing what you want to do. (B-schools are somewhat in the business of getting you a job. The entrepreneurial angle can be more challenging.) Worth a follow up conversation. (Consider setting up a free consult with us to talk more.)

I think the thing to consider is how risk-averse are you? If this is the year that you must get into b-school and failure is not an option, I recommend hitting all the schools you have listed, but also adding some safeties where your stats might help them overlook the expulsion and online degree. Think UNC and Johnson for example. I *think* you can stay within the Top 20 but it will help your results if you just add a few programs where your stats will be above the average.

I hope that helps!
Krista
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Hi - Thanks for sharing! Think you will get some serious discussion at many of the schools. I would try to get as much management/leadership roles in your position. You seem very qualified - but will need some luck. You will likely want to try as many schools as practicable - and perhaps replace some of the schools you list with other top 10 schools that might be a more amenable to your particular history. Hope a bit of help.
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Background and nationality :
22 year old college senior thinking of 2+2. I'd appreciate any feedback you may have. Born and raised in the US but ethnically Chinese.

Undergrad Information :
Good school (think Princeton) studying Chemical Engineering with minors in CS and finance
GPA: 3.7/4.0
GMAT: 740

Work experience and leadership:
Private equity (merchant banking) intern in one of (Morgan Stanley/Goldman Sachs)
Investment banking intern at Citibank
Computational biology researcher at university
Leadership positions in school finance club and Engineers Without Borders

Community and others :
Tutored low-income middle school students
Photographer for school newspaper

Post MBA goals:
Dream job is to be a product manager for a large tech company working with productivity software (think Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, etc). As someone who's worked 16 hour days cranking on Excel in past jobs, I'd love to be a part of the teams that decide new features and implementations for these products. There's a lot to be gained by adding features to make scripting tasks more user-friendly, and such a change would improve the daily lives of millions of office workers.

Anything else?
Post-graduation, I've decided to become a software engineer working with big data in the fintech space, rather than return to the bank I interned at. This fintech company is large and well-known (think Envestnet/Capital One). However, I'm curious how adcoms will think about this transition, as they may consider it risky to see that I'm switching from finance to the software industry. At the same time, I'd like to think that I'd be an attractive/unique candidate given my broad experiences in finance/big data/tech. My transition and motivations will certainly be featured in my essay, but I'm curious about others' views on how an adcom may perceive my situation. Additionally, I'm curious whether adcoms will put me in the pool of finance/consulting candidates or tech/engineering candidates. Thoughts on that would be helpful as well. Thanks in advance.

Hi - Think you have a great shot but not a lot of time. I especially like that you have decided to join a tech firm - bit hard to be admitted from finance these days. Hope you have your recommenders lined up and get your essays crafted soon! Best -
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Hey chemeji you have a really nice profile. Coming from a bit of a crowded applicant pool but still think with a good essay/application you have as good a chance as anyone with your strong GPA, GMAT, and early work experience. The application matters so put your best foot forward there as well


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Hey @fearfulresistence thanks for all of the info. Very inter sting story and career trajectory. You have a good profile with a few red flags. Red flags are fine for most schools but when you’re applying to some of the top schools in the world it can make things a bit more challenging. So i would make sure you are incorporating a broader range of schools. But give it a shot and with your interesting story you have an outside shot at your target schools. On paper you are there, just need to make sure your past is clear and the learnings even clearer


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Hey noxn i really like your profile for the schools you’re targeting. You won’t necessarily wow these schools with your GPA or GMAT but your work experience is really fantastic and fairly unique. Think it will help you standout. Now it will be up to you to convey that because at first glance it may not all come across as impressive as it is. So i think you’re in play but the execution of your application will be key


Sent from my iPhone using GMAT Club Forum
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Indian, Female, 30 Years

GMAT – 720

Undergrad: Bachelor of Technology (Electrical Engineering) – (Non-IIT---top 5% in the university) – (2004-2008)-4.0 GPA
Grad: Master of Science (Computer Science) – Univ of California, Davis – (2010-2013)-3.6 GPA

Work Experience:
After Undegrad:
Lectureship at Government Engineering College (2008-2010), Mentor at Placement/Recruitment Club for the students at that college
After Masters:
Software Engineer at Cisco Systems, San Jose from 2012-present, with one promotion.
-Leading the team as a senior software engineer,
-customer facing position, trying to understand the issues the customer have with our product and try to accommodate the needs/recommendation of customer
-Interaction with marketing (product management/TMEs) for narrowing down the features customer ask for

Extra Curriculars –
- Volunteering at a certain Engineering College in India for placement guidance, campus preparation and resume review.
- Organizing various events in our Business Unit at Cisco, from Socials or Picnics to hackathon etc.
- Mentoring new hires and Interns
- Organizing volunteering activities for our cross-functional group at Cisco.
- Part of team organizing fund-raising (In Silicon Valley) for education of underprivileged children in India.
- Organized Hepatitis B vaccination drive at my mother's work place (one of the most reputed banks in India) for 5 consecutive years

Hobbies -
- Dance (founder of dance/drama club in my undergrad college)
- sports (winner of University badminton championships in undergrad for 3 years, stopped after knee injury)

Achievements:
- Won multiple hackathons at Cisco (couple of them where I was the team leader)
- Won multiple awards at Cisco for recognizing my performance and leadership
- Won scholarship till under graduation from State Bank Of India on Merit

Target Schools
- Haas
- Sloan
- Booth
- Columbia

Post MBA Goal:
- Make a career change and move to Marketing in Computer Networking Industry

Are the target Schools a bit of stretch for my profile? Will Harvard or Stanford or Wharton be out my reach? Being 30 and going for full time, any tips?

I’m from Saudi Arabia, I graduated from Pennsylvania state university as a petroleum engineer, I haven’t taken the GMAT yet but let’s say that I can get something around 720-750, and with a 4 years experience in Saudi Aramco one of the biggest oil companies in the world if not the biggest.
What’s my chances of getting accepted to Harvard?

Posted from my mobile device

Hi EyadHK, thanks for your question. There's a lot more to the admissions process than simply having 4 yrs of good work experience and a 750 GMAT. If you end up with that-- it gives you a good leg to stand on in submitting applications to any top program BUT-- and this is a big BUT-- that alone is not the only thing you need. If your sights are set on HBS or any other top program-- I encourage you now-- ahead of the official application season-- to start researching the program-- and by that I mean-- listen to their webinars, reach out to current students-- and understand WHICH resources at HBS are going to help you reach your goals. Then think about your own background and how you compare to what HBS states they are looking for:https://www.accesseducation.com/about.html which beyond Analytical Aptitude and Appetite-- are also the Habit of Leadership and Engaged community citizenship. So for leadership they really want to see someone who has led in many areas of their life and also given back to their community in impactful ways. This is all very important-- so don't focus just on the analytical aptitude as the other metrics must be there as well. We have many HBS alums as counselors for Stratus and if you want to speak with one to get a better sense of what you can do to prepare -- I encourage you to reach out to us at this link for a free consult: https://stratusadmissionscounseling.com ... b-visitor/
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Eyad,

Thank you for the post. Saudi Aramco does well sending applicants to top schools including HBS. That said, as mentioned before, we need a lot more information as there really isn't much to judge from.

- What school did you go to for undergrad?
- What were your grades?
- What roles have you had at work?
- How is your performance relative to peers?
- What else do you do outside of work?

These are a few things I would start with. Feel free to reach out directly if you would like and I can compare you against our other Saudi clients to give you the unfiltered response. www.personalmbacoach.com

Best,
Scott
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